Our Home, His Glory

Thanksgiving Day at the Magic Kingdom {♥}

Happy New Year! Sorry I haven't posted since Halloween! We went on vacation for Thanksgiving Break {our families sent us to Disney!}, Elijah played the role of Amahl in Amahl & the Night Visitors, my parents came to visit, I was room Mom for a 4th Grade Christmas party, my sister-in-law got married, Christmas & New Year happened ... and here we are! Tomorrow I'm presenting a workshop on the organized home at our church's one day women's retreat.

I don't know about you but I'm obsessed with organization. If you have a blog about organizing - I'll read it; if there's a magazine article - I'll buy that magazine; a show - I'll watch it. My friend Laura shares my passion {but my friend Susie says I have a problem} <--- which I take as a compliment {♥} We have four people {two of whom are still growing!} in a home that has 1,100 square feet. Organizing is my obsession - but it's also necessary to ensure we keep the space we have organized and orderly.

I've been studying scripture {and snapping pictures of the different areas of our home} in preparation for the workshop tomorrow and thought I'd do a post {since one of my New Year's promises to myself was to post more faithfully}. So here's my heart in the area of homemaking. {♥} Amy

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"Let all things be done decently and in order." I Corinthians 14:40

I only recently discovered this scripture but it's definitely going into my life verse arsenal. I've always loved a neat and orderly home. I was blessed to grow up with a GREAT role model in the organized department - my Mom. She trained me up in the way I should go {and so far I haven't departed from it.} Our home was always neat and organized. Everything had a place {and everything was in place}. AND, my Mom trained me well in how to keep a home, always reminding me that "a woman's work is never done." <--- so true!

My Mom went back to work when I was 9-ish years old and I stayed home by myself that summer being Susie-Homemaker. I vacuumed, dusted, washed laundry, straightened and organized the house ... I did it all {and was so PROUD of the work I'd done!} It felt good to be busy at home, to help out my parents, to be a homemaker. And that feeling in my heart has never diminished. To this day I'm happy to keep my own home and provide a safe haven for my family. Yes, sometimes I get tired {and my house can fall in and out from order to chaos - like now - when half our Christmas decorations are still floating about the house}. I delight in my role as wife and mother and it gives me pride to keep a home my hubby and children can be proud to come home to {Elijah even gives neighborhood children tours of my handiwork when I complete a home project} <--- child after my own heart! {♥}

Early in my marriage I read a devotion about the importance of being a good homemaker and it really gave me great {Biblical} perspective. As a woman of God it's my job {and my JOY!} to build, watch over, manage and keep our home.

Proverbs 31:27: "She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.”

I'm blessed to have a job that allows me to have the same hours as my children. I dash out from my job like a madwoman right at 3PM everyday to get the boys from school, then it's home to cook, clean, straighten, help with homework, carve out some quality time then fall into bed. I can honestly say I'm rarely idle {except between the hours of 11PM-4:45AM}

Early in my married life {pre-kids} I spent ALL DAY SATURDAY cleaning my home. Every. Saturday. I moved all the furniture to the middle of room, wiped down all baseboards and walls, cleaned the floor on my hands and knees with a bucket {because mops weren't good enough for me ... <--- "oh girl!"} ... I went CRAZY with the cleaning! Fast-forward two kids and 15 years later and I promise you this crazy lady has left the building; however, a clean home is still important to me.

I think in this day of Pinterest and Facebook it's difficult to feel like our homes measure up to everyone else's. But my loves, I promise you, nowhere in the Bible does it say our homes have to measure up to that standard. That's perfectionism and it's not Biblical. I read a blog post on this very topic from ourfamilyforhisglory and she worded it perfectly:

"As {Christian} keepers of our homes ... no one will be able to malign the Word of God. WOW! and GULP! How I act, including “working at MY home,” is a reflection upon His Word! This encourages me, as I sit overwhelmed, surrounded by the mess once again, to realize that my home does not need to be spotless. (I’d much rather work towards spotless hearts.) And it stirs me on to be busy making a home that is welcoming, loving, comfortable, and God-honoring." YES! AMEN! I {♥} this woman!

It's much more important to me that I'm present for my husband and children than spending an entire day cleaning my house. I get completely overwhelmed at the thought of spending an entire day cleaning our whole house, so I do a little each day to get it done throughout the week {and I'm always done by Thursday so Friday can start the weekend}.

The other beauty of my daily routine {for me} is that our home is never that bad off and I feel free to spend time with the boys without housework looming over my head. And when a neighbor or friend pops in unexpectedly, my home is ready to welcome them in.

What works for our family is that {every day} we:

• make the bed {and the boys make theirs} <--- my Mom always said the bed is the biggest piece of furniture in the room. If the bed is made it makes the whole room seem put together ... and she's right!


• wipe down surfaces with Lysol wipes; spray down/wipe down the showers each morning


• swiffer the floors


• take 30 min. to straighten any part of the house that might need tending


• run {and put away} a load of laundry {if I get too behind in laundry it makes me want to throw everything away and just start over}


• cook - I {try} to cook a meal ahead so the meal I cook one night is the one I serve the next. At some point we have "leftovers" night and Friday is pizza - ALWAYS!

Each week I focus on a room or space {kitchen, living room, bathroom, pantry, etc.} for *SUPER-CLEANING* THIS is when I wipe down the baseboards, organize the pantry, clean out the refrigerator, etc. This way no part of the house goes neglected.

Encouragement for Staying Organized
Even if organizing isn't your obsession, I'd love to encourage you to just choose a place to start and START! Get as much done as you can, then come back to it as you're able. A little is better than nothing at all {and if you need help, don't be afraid to enlist a friend or family member} <--- full disclosure, our garage is BANANAS and my mother-in-law {God bless her!} is coming in February to help us organize!!! I. Cannot. Wait!

• Have a “HOME” for everything… if everything has a designated place, it's much easier to put it away {before holiday's/birthday's I like to purge each area of our home so there's an empty space ... that way when we get new loot, there's a place for each item to go straightaway}


• We have our kids help us {and we DON'T pay them to be helpers} - we feel this is just part of being a family


• I have a little 1950s housewife in me - I like to have a quick clean-up time before Daddy gets home in the evening so our home is a safe refuge for him after a day of high expectations and demands {I've always been this way but I think Mad Men has reinforced this idea}


• Have cleaning supplies readily available & CLEAN AS YOU GO!! {this is actually my #1 way to live!}

Homemaking Influences - my mother raised me up from infancy to be a helper {thank you Mommy!} My City grandmother was also a great homemaker {my country Grandma ... not so much - but she was FULL of LOVE!!!} Here's what inspires me to keep a clean, orderly home:

PRAYER
I desire a clean heart above a clean home and spend time in prayer daily for the beautiful, amazing, precious people in our home God has given to me.

MY HUSBAND
I'm blessed {BLESSED!} to have a hubby who helps. He comes home after a long day at work and comes alongside me to unload the dishwasher, put away laundry, grocery shop {he's AMAZING at saving $$$ at Kroger} ... whatever needs to be done. And his mother is a GREAT homemaker, too, so I know how we run our home is important to him. He likes an uncluttered space {hooray!} but doesn't care about wrinkled laundry {also hooray because ironing is NOT my spiritual gift!}

MY FAMILY
Spending time with my family is the MOST important goal for me {especially now that all my babies are growing up}. I don't want to miss one minute with them. They are my heart, my soul, and my top priority.

MYSELF
I am the best wife, Mommy, friend when my home is in order {even knowing a drawer is out of sorts makes me unhappy} <--- hmmm ... maybe Sus is right ...

Anybody else out there obsessed with organizing? Would love to hear from you. What works for you and your family?